Joanne Nazir
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Item Reviewing Science Education in Trinidad and Tobago through the Lens of the COVID-19 Pandemic(Journal of Education and Development in the Caribbean, 2021) Nazir, JoanneThis paper explores how the COVID-19 pandemic can act as a lens for educators and scholars to more clearly define some of the issues hampering effective science education in one Caribbean territory. The pandemic clearly revealed certain phenomena in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) including: the poor state of public scientific literacy; limited public understanding of the nature of science; an antagonistic dynamic with respect to public trust in science; and the lack of comprehensive remote/online pedagogical options for science. These issues have implications for the teaching and learning of science in T&T. In particular, science educators are encouraged to consider: a border crossing approach to teaching science; explicitly teaching the nature of science; adopting a science in context approach to science education; and working on developing digital pedagogies for teaching science that honour inquiry and concrete hands-on experience with phenomena. While the article is primarily about Trinidad and Tobago, it may be relevant to those interested in the development of small island states, including other Caribbean territories.Item Knowledge is not enough: Reimagining environmental and sustainability education in the Caribbean as environmental consciousness raising(2021) Nazir, JoanneThis is a theoretical-position paper that seeks to advance thinking on environmental and sustainability education (ESE) for a Caribbean context. A critical review of literature and situational analysis of the Caribbean context are used to argue for the adoption of an environmental consciousness raising model to ESE, as negative events become more and more visible in the region. The islands of the Caribbean are small land masses with small carrying capacities and unique ecosystems that are particularly vulnerable to environmental degradation. At the same time, they are also striving for economic development. Two models of ESE are presented: technical rational ESE and ESE as environmental consciousness raising. The author advocates for the relevance of the latter for the region by building on existing work in the area both regionally and internationally and drawing upon salient sociopolitical and cultural features inherent to the Caribbean context.